Personal musings on Israel, Jewish matters, history and how they all affect each other

Friday, August 17, 2007

The Snag in the Peace Negotiations

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is about serious things. It may be exacerbated by dramatic things such as road blockades or missiles aimed at civilians, but that's not what it's about. So when the top item on the front page of Haaretz informs us today that Olmert and Abbas really are trying to hammer out a framework for a final-status agreement, but that the Palestinian demand for a right of return is proving to be a real stumbling block, there shouldn't really be any surprise, should there?

Once that one gets resolved (if ever), there will be a few more, such as the question if any Palestinian government will be able to deliver what Israel needs to get from the deal. Real peace, for example. Which doesn't mean that the efforts to get there are a waste of anyone's time. They aren't.